Former Foreign Affairs Minister Ambassador James Victor Gbeho dies at 91

Former Minister for Foreign Affairs and former President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, has died at the age of 91.

Family sources confirmed that Ambassador Gbeho died at a hospital on Saturday.

Born on January 12, 1935, in Keta in the Volta Region, Ambassador Gbeho served as Ghana's Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2001 under former President Jerry John Rawlings.

He later represented the Anlo Constituency in Parliament from 2001 to 2005 and subsequently served as a foreign policy adviser during President John Evans Atta Mills' era.

Ambassador Gbeho joined Ghana's Foreign Service in 1959 and spent more than five decades serving in various diplomatic roles across Asia, Europe and Africa. His postings included China, India, Nigeria, Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

He also served as Ghana's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 1980 to 1990.

In 2010, Ambassador Gbeho was unanimously elected President of the ECOWAS Commission, a position he held until 2012.

He was the son of Philip Gbeho, composer of Ghana's national anthem.